Bitcoin Sinks Back to $21,000 Triggering $159 Million in Liquidations

Bitcoin is sinking back to lows not seen since January amid ongoing sell pressure spurred by Silvergate woes and hawkish central bank policy. 

Sinking below $21,000, the crypto market underwent over $150 million in liquidations on a 24-hour basis. 

• Bitcoin traded for $21,811 at 14:19 UST on Thursday, before slowly sinking to $21,437 over the next four hours. 
• Beginning at roughly 18:22 UST, Bitcoin quickly tanked from $21,431 to $20,969 at 18:53 UST. It trades for $20,927 at writing time. 
• According to Coinglass, the drawdown has triggered $46.32 million in liquidations in the past hour alone. $26 million worth of liquidations came from Bitcoin trades, with another $11 million from ETH-related losses. 
• Over the past day, 49,562 traders have been liquidated for $159.17 million in total. The largest single liquidation took place on BitMEX on an XBTUSD trade for $6.49 million.
• Bitcoin traded well over $23,000 earlier this month until crypto banking giant Silvergate unveiled operational damages that would leave it unable to submit its annual financial results. The bank officially announced a voluntary wind down of operations on Wednesday – though it is still solvent. 
• Meanwhile, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell claimed on Tuesday that interest rates will likely need to be hiked further to combat inflation, which still remains well above its 2% target. Rising interest rates have proven a primary burden for both crypto and tech stocks over the past 12 months.